For more than 35 years, Wood County sheriff's investigators worked to bring the person they say brutally stabbed Eleanore Roberts to justice.
Roberts' son Marshall found the 73-year-old Saratoga woman dead Nov. 27, 1984, on the bathroom floor of her Saratoga home. She suffered broken ribs and a punctured heart and lungs, consistent with being stabbed with a scissors, according to a 2013 search warrant that cited the initial autopsy.
At least five Wood County investigators worked on the solving the homicide case in the 35 years following her death. On Aug. 27, their dedication paid off when Wisconsin Assistant Attorney General Annie Jay filed a charge of first-degree murder against John A. Sarver, 57, of Port Edwards.
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Wood County Sheriff Shawn Becker said he's happy for the Roberts family, which has waited a long time to see charges filed. Prosecutors still have a long way to go to bring the case to conclusion, but it's a start, Becker said.
"We're here now and moving forward with the prosecution," Becker said.
The charges are the result of a team of investigators and Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation agents who had a passion for solving the case, Becker said. Retired Wood County Sheriff's Lt. Robert Levendoske was one of the first investigators on the case and developed a commitment for solving it. When Levendoske was promoted from investigator to lieutenant, he continued to oversee the department's investigative team and made sure he found officers with the same passion for the case he had, Becker said.
Levendoske was working on the north end of the county Nov. 27, 1984, when Marshall Roberts called Nekoosa police to report finding his mother dead. It was before the days of 911, and Marshall Roberts knew the Nekoosa number, Levendoske said.
Levendoske became an investigator in 1978, and Eleanore Roberts' death was the first homicide case he worked. During the years that followed, Levendoske frequently talked with members of the Roberts family and wanted to bring them closure.
Retired Lt. Dave Laude worked with Levendoske on the case, even after both men were promoted to lieutenant. Laude said he talked to Eleanore Roberts' daughter-in-law many times. Eleanore's son Marshall has since died, but Laude is happy for the remaining family members that a prosecutor filed charges.
Levendoske was the heart and soul of the team that worked on the case through the years, Laude said. Eleanore Roberts' age and the senseless brutality of the homicide made it personal for all the investigators, especially Levendoske, who was at the crime scene and got to know the family, Laude said.
After three or four years, investigators identified Sarver as a suspect in the case, Levendoske said. There were professional disagreements between investigators and prosecutors throughout the years, with investigators believing they had a good case, but prosecutors believing there was not enough evidence, he said.
"We locked into the suspect, but the case stalled and stalled and stalled," Levendoske said.
When Levendoske became a lieutenant, he chose Wood County Sheriff's Investigator Mark Neuman to take the case. Neuman did a lot of good work on the case during the years he had it and continued to move it closer to prosecution, Levendoske said.
When Neuman retired, Investigator Jay Shroda took over the case. He really wanted the case and Levendoske, who was still in charge of investigators, wanted someone with the passion for solving it that Shroda showed.
Shroda organized years worth of information previous investigators gathered. He then scanned the information into his computer where he could easily access it and study the details of the case. Shroda would often work on the case on his own time late into the night. He was known to send Levendoske an occasional 2:30 a.m. email with a question or observation.
The case came to a conclusion because of department leaders like Levendoske and Laude, Shroda said. They refused to leave the case without a resolution, he said.
"Through various administrations, investigators received scrutiny in regard to allocation of resources and personnel," Shroda said. "Investigators resorted to undertaking investigations on their off times at no expense to the county."
Levendoske and Laude would not compromise investigative integrity because of increased budgetary constraints, Shroda said.
County residents also kept pressure on the department, which was the catalyst that was needed at times to move forward with administrative blocks, he said.
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When Shroda left the department, Investigator Andrew Simon took over the case. When Simon became a special agent with the state Division of Criminal Investigation, he took the case with him, Levendoske said.
Simon teamed up with DCI Special Agent Shane Heiser. The two men brought new resources to the investigation, Becker said.
Each time the case turned over to a new investigator, it was a challenge, but each new person brought new life and new ideas to the case, Laude said.
"The two current DCI agents are very enthusiastic and should be given a lot of credit for bringing it to the start of the prosecution process," Laude said.
In the coming months, the investigators who worked on the case will likely come back together to help Jay prosecute the case, Levendoske said.
It will be a challenge because some witnesses have died and so much time has passed, but the investigators who spent so many hours working to get charges filed hope to finally bring Eleanore Roberts' family some closure, he said.
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